Terms of Use

Acceptance of These Terms

By using sddatacenterordinances.org, you agree to these terms. If you do not agree, please do not use the site. These terms apply to every page of the site, its downloads, and its tools, including the Ordinance Builder.

Ownership of the Tracker’s Content

The tracker’s own work, including its summaries, ratings, the Tracker Standard, maps, data tables, the Ordinance Builder, and the name and mark of the South Dakota Data Center Ordinance Tracker, belongs to the tracker. Ordinances, minutes, and other public records remain public, and documents published by others belong to their publishers.

Using and Sharing the Information

The tracker’s summaries, ratings, maps, and data tables are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). You may copy, share, and adapt them for any purpose, including news stories, presentations, public comments, draft ordinances, research, and commercial products, as long as you credit the source as “South Dakota Data Center Ordinance Tracker, sddatacenterordinances.org,” link to the license, and say whether you changed anything. You may not use the tracker’s name or PA mark to suggest that the tracker endorses you, your organization, or your position.

Conduct That Is Not Allowed

• Presenting the tracker’s content as your own, or changing a rating or summary and presenting it as the tracker’s.
• Submitting corrections you know to be false, or pretending to be a public official or another person.
• Copying the site with automated tools in a way that slows or burdens it. The full data is available as free downloads on the For Reporters page.
• Attempting to disrupt, break into, or misuse the site, or using it for any unlawful purpose.

Not Legal Advice

The tracker summarizes ordinances, drafts, and meeting records so they are easier to find and compare. A summary cannot capture every provision, exception, or later amendment. Before making a decision that depends on a local government’s rules, read the official ordinance and consult the county or city attorney, the zoning officer, or your own attorney.

Accuracy

Every entry is built from public records and links to its source, entries with upcoming hearings or votes are rechecked at least every two weeks, and each entry shows the date it was last verified. Ordinances change, records are sometimes incomplete, and mistakes can happen. If you find an error, please submit a correction.

About the Ratings

Ratings measure what an ordinance requires in writing against the published Tracker Standard. They are not a judgment of any official, local government, developer, or project, and they do not say whether a data center should or should not be built.

Documents and Websites of Others

Ordinances, model ordinances, guides, and other documents linked from the tracker belong to the local governments and organizations that published them. Links are provided for convenience, and the tracker is not responsible for the content of other websites.

Privacy

The tracker collects very little information about visitors and never sells it. The Privacy Policy explains what is collected and how it is used.

Use by Minors

The tracker is meant for adults and is not directed to children under 13. Anyone under 18 should use the site with the permission of a parent or guardian. The site has no accounts and collects no personal information from visitors, apart from emails people choose to send.

No Warranty and Limitation of Liability

The tracker is provided as is and as available, without any warranty of any kind. To the fullest extent the law allows, its maintainer is not responsible for any loss, damage, or decision that results from using, or being unable to use, the information on this site.

Independence

The tracker is independent. It is not funded by or affiliated with any developer, utility, company, or government body.

Governing Law and Disputes

These terms are governed by the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. If you have a concern about the tracker, please write to [email protected] first, and both sides will try in good faith to resolve it within 30 days. Any dispute that cannot be resolved that way will be decided in the state courts located in Adams County, Pennsylvania.

Changes to These Terms

These terms may be updated as the site changes. The new version will be posted on this page with a new date, and a notice of any significant change will appear at the top of the page for 30 days. Continuing to use the site after a change means you accept the updated terms.

Contact

Questions about these terms can be sent to [email protected].